FLYING HIGH, CAROLE DEMAS’S
FIREFLY LIGHTS UP THE ROOM

“I could say life is just a bowl of Jello / And appear more intelligent and smart / But I’m stuck like a dope with a thing called hope / And I can’t get it out of my heart”

That habit of favoring hoping over moping — being unapologetically “A Cock-Eyed Optimist” (first trumpeted by Mary Martin in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific) — seem authentically shared by a beaming Carole Demas as she sings it early in her show. Curmudgeon Alert: Look out, because the sunny outlook is contagious. And that’s a good thing. Some memorable moments in her career are discussed, with representative songs, as she looks back, mostly through rose-colored glasses befitting such a cock-eyed optimist. The act, seen on July 23 at 54 Below, and returning there on September 6, is titled Firefly, a reference to a charming story-song “Advice to a Young Firefly” written by Sam Carner & Derek Gregor about that bug and its bright light. The singer certainly appears to have an inner light of her own as she owns her material or reclaims numbers she’s performed over her career. She’s solidly supported by her music director/pianist Ian Herman, bassist Tom Hubbard, and drummer David Silliman.

While some performers are reluctant to reveal how old they are, that is not the case with this remarkably radiant lady who looks and sounds decades younger than her chronological age. The booking is tied to her birthday celebration. Cheerily, she chirps the cute item about aging from the songbook of The Beatles, “When I’m 64.” But wait, there’s more (years). She tweaks the lyric to replace “64” with her actual age – 85. No hesitation. Just grins from her and gasps from some in the audience. Gasps turned to sighs of remembered childhood for some of those attendees of a certain generation of TV-watchers who fondly remember tuning into the local New York series for kids, The Magic Garden. Paula Janis — the non-diva Demas’s BFF and her co-star on that program — is on hand, guitar in hand, as the two handle a special nostalgic segment devoted to that long-running gig which led to companion record albums, specials, and some live appearances through the years. Sounding as warm as the memories, the years fade away for them – and some listeners transfixed and transported back to their youth, mouthing the words to “The Hello Song” theme – or singing them aloud.

While others were opening cards and sending flowers or candy on Valentine’s Day in 1972, the merry Miss Demas had other matters that mattered more. It was opening night on Broadway for her, in the lead female role of Sandy in the original production of Grease. So, of course, in a show about looking back, there HAD to be comments about that time, and one of the musical high-spirited highlights of the high school-set story. But she didn’t do that alone: She was joined on stage to perform the score’s “Summer Nights” this summer night by fellow original cast members Ilene Kristen, Ray De Mattis, and Joy Rinaldi, as well as Ryan Williams from a tour and Paula Janis also gamely joining the gaggle of Greasers.

Many months playing The Girl in the off-Broadway classic The Fantasticks gets acknowledged via the piece that bookends the musical, “Try to Remember.” But she doesn’t have to TRY too hard to remember anything, it seems: the experiences described with specifics sound especially vivid. Major applause comes after “Meadowlark,” kind of a gargantuan emotional piece that Carole Demas nails, evidencing solid vocals and nuanced acting skills. She eschews talking about the unhappy parts of the history of the musical it comes from – The Baker’s Wife – for which she’d been hired to play the title role.

Very effective were the unaffected wistfulness and yearning, making her “Over the Rainbow” an overall convincing performance. She includes words not used in the film The Wizard of Oz (the introductory verse and a couple of lines from the intended reprise).

Good songs, good show, good vibes! This is a splendid, well-attended, highly recommended show.

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Carol Demas: Firefly will be back at 54 Below on September 6, 2025, at 7pm
for more info, visit Carole Dimas